Unexpected Company
by dr-canis-horriblus
Summary: A one-shot based on a prompt from otpprompts on Tumblr. While searching for a place to move into, Robin Scherbatsky takes on a dare from Marshall to move into an allegedly haunted house- that's haunted by the spirit of someone certainly familiar. But this ghost is friendlier than she realizes- and just why does he care so much for her?


Robin Scherbatsky was not afraid of ghosts. She never had been. She simply didn't believe that they could exist, despite how much her friend Marshall wanted her to. And that was why, when she found the rent of her current apartment raised to an ungodly price, she didn't hesitate in seeking out a place to move, nor did she hesitate on what exact kind of place she'd be moving into. As long as it WASN'T located in a crime ridden area, she figured, it didn't matter how rundown or dilapidated it was. She began seeking out her new home quickly, and visited a wide array of different apartments in the process, but it wasn't until the day that Marshall recommended a location that she would find a place suitable to her likings. And stranger than expected as well.

"So, I've been doing a lot of research on possible home choices," Robin had said one afternoon as she took a seat next to her best friend, Lily, at the local bar, MacLaren's.

"And?" the smaller redhead asked.

"Abso-fricking-lutely nothing!" Robin responded. "It's like trying to find a house in the jungle out here- everything's either crowded, could kill you, or is full of cheetahs."

Marshall nodded. "It's those guys in the leopard suits, isn't it?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"They're everywhere."

Robin turned to Lily. "This is what I'm up against. Either I find somewhere to live or it's back to the streets for Scherbatsky." She ran her fingers through her hair.

Marshall was about to say something, but stopped himself. Robin, however, saw him. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing," Marshall replied. He then said, "It's just-" And then stopped again.

"Marshall, what? What is it just?"

And the words bubbled from his mouth like a stream at that invitation to explain. "A few years ago, I found out about this really old apartment -late 1900s built that's like basically free to live in since the landlord left, and apparently it's not too filthy. They say if someone would just move in there that it could be easily cleaned up, but-"

Robin's face was lit with excitement. "There! Then I could move in!"

"But here's the scary part," Marshall cut in. "It's haunted."

Robin scoffed. "Haunted? Really? You think that I'm going to miss an opportunity to move in somewhere because it's haunted?"

"Well, personally I would," Marshall responded.

"Marshall, I don't know if this is clear to you since you so insist on proving the existence of something that clearly does not exist, but…I don't believe in ghosts."

"Oh, you will," Marshall replied almost instantly. "I tell you, if you move in there, you are going to be in a world of fear, my friend. In fact, you could die. You probably will die."

Robin rolled her eyes. "Okay then. I propose to you a challenge. If I can move in there, fix up the place and manage to LIVE there for at least three months, then you're going to face the fact that ghosts aren't real. And you're going to come stay the night."

"And if not?"

"Then you win I guess. You can whip out the ol' I told you so."

"Seems fair enough," Marshall said, crossing his arms. "Lily, thoughts?"

"Hey, I've known to humor you with this whole ghost deal, but let's face it, Robin probably does have a point here," Lily said.

"Lily!" Marshall whined.

"I'm just saying!" Lily retorted. She herself generally doubted the existence of such supernatural beings, but rarely, she would find herself believing in them under Marshall's influence.

"Fine," he said, pouting. "You know who's gonna be right on this."

"I am."

"Zip it, Scherbatsky!"

* * *

><p>After a few nights of vigorous late night research on the place, Robin was ready to move into this fabled haunted house. Early the following morning, aptly just after sunrise, she had her things packed and hitched a cab ride to drive her there.<p>

"Where to?" the driver (Ranjit of course) asked.

"The Darkwood building," Robin told him proudly and promptly.

Ranjit practically lost control of the steering wheel for a second.

"Robin, you are going to be in lots of trouble there," he said.

She pushed the hair back behind her ears. "I know."

"It's haunted by the ghost of a 30-something year old man with a vengeance," Ranjit continued. "You may very easily die."

"I know."

"To the Darkwood building it is then!" Ranjit declared.

The drive there was long- possibly the longest cab ride that Robin had ever been on. By the time they arrived, it was practically afternoon. Robin grabbed her luggage and stepped out, closing the taxi door behind her.

"Remember, Robin," Ranjit yelled after her, his window down. "I know of a exorcist if you need one!"

"Thanks, Ranjit, but I think I'll be fine," she told him with a smile that was just the slightest bit uneasy.

"Alright, I'll see you later and hopefully alive!" Ranjit called to her as he drove off. "Take care!"

And Robin was alone. In front of her stood the building, a ramshackle tower that loomed above her like the relic of a long lost ancient world. She took a deep breath and moved forward.

Pulling the key from her pocket, she thrust it into the keyhole and twisted. The door was stiff, as if it had not been opened for decades, which it probably had not been. But with a loud groan, it slowly opened, and she hesitantly stepped in.

The scent of the room was a musty, strong odor that was instantly noticeable upon entering. This was common of old buildings, Robin figured, so at least THAT was nothing to worry about. The lights of the mid afternoon sun shone bright reeds of sunlight through the dusty, crumbling windows, and the sound of many little scuttling feet within the walls sent Robin's spine tingling.

She set her bags down at the floor, marveling at the roomy apartment that she had challenged herself to call her new home.

Just then, the front door slammed shut with a loud gust of wind, causing her to jump.

"There are no ghosts, Scherbatsky," she told herself, though beginning to doubt this just slightly. "They don't exist." But she couldn't be so sure. Logic intermingled with speculation, and by the end of the night, she was nowhere near certain that the legend behind the Darkwood was false at all.

* * *

><p>Robin slept surprisingly well that night, exhausted from the day's work she had endured of cleaning up the place and making a few adjustments in the process. The following day, she awoke pleasantly, and after having stocked her cabinet and carefully cleaned her kitchen, she began preparing breakfast for herself.<p>

A frying pan- one singular, overturned frying pan- was laying on the floor by the oven. No big deal, she figured. She had probably just knocked it over in her haste last night. But then…there were spoons. And a few forks. They were laid out in an odd sort of trail away from the frying pan, as if someone had taken the time to do so, like a peculiar puzzle resulting from someone with too much free time on their hands.

Robin placed her hands on her hips and looked down for a few minutes.

At this point, she couldn't help but be a little suspicious, but now, after viewing this display, her curiosity was more aroused than she was fearful. Perhaps something DID haunt this place. Now, Robin was determined to find out if and what.

* * *

><p>She met with Ted, Lily, and Marshall at the bar later that afternoon.<p>

"So, Scherbatsky found a new haunted haunt, huh?" Ted joked.

"Yeah, a little bit," Robin replied as she sat down next to him.

"How'd the first night in the haunted mansion go?" Ted inquired, popping a chip into his mouth from the bowl in the center if the table.

"Actually not bad," Robin replied. "But…"

Marshall's attention piqued. "But what? Oh, did you maybe debunk a certain rumor, Robin?"

Robin hesitated. "I…well, no, not really."

"She did," Ted teased.

"Did not. However, it MAY possibly be slightly closer to the truth than I initially thought."

"I told you-" Marshall started to say.

"Not yet you don't!" Robin yelled at him. "I'm doing some digging though. Tonight. I'll tell you, if there is a ghost there, he or she is gonna wish that they'd haunted a different place. Just sayin.'" She proudly swigged her beer, looking ever so sure of herself.

* * *

><p>Night came. The bats in the ceiling had proved to be quite an annoying problem for Robin, so she attempted to rid them by banging her broom on it. So far, it did not seem to be working, but the impact of it did cause something to fall from above. She was startled by the sudden downfall of dust, chunks of cement, and whatever it was that she had shook loose. It hit the floor in a second, and appeared to be nothing other than a manila folder full of papers. They scattered away from it, and one, a photo that landed face up, caught her attention.<p>

She picked it up and looked it over carefully. The photo was of a blond man, likely in his mid-thirties but handsome, with a devilishly youthful face. He was fully dressed in a suit and tie, smiling deviously to the camera and adjusting his tie.

Another paper, a newspaper clipping, next to it caught her attention, and she picked it up too. Looking closer, she realized that it was an obituary.

The name on it read "Barnabus A. Stinson- found dead in Darkwood apartment, exact cause of death unknown. Foul play was suspected, but no evidence to prove this has been found."

That was it? That was the backing behind the Darkwood ghost theory? It felt oddly too simple for all the hype that it had perpetuated, and not to mention strange- very strange. Robin was still ruminating over this when she felt an eerie chill run down her back, and the curtains over the windows blew ever so gently in the sudden breeze. Now, she was certain that something did live here; something supernatural, something not of the normal world. The moment that an object in another room hit the floor with a loud clang was the moment that this became obnoxiously apparent to her. And she wanted to get to the bottom of who and what was sharing the building- her building.

"Oh crap," she muttered to herself. "Now Marshall's gonna have to tell me 'I told you so!'"

* * *

><p>The following morning, Robin had once again met up with her friends at the bar.<p>

"Well?" Marshall asked expectantly.

"You…you were right."

He cheered. "Ha! I knew it!"

"However, since I'm the one who took the bet, you still gotta pay up."

"Come again for Big Fudge?"

"Tonight. That ghost and I have business to settle, and you're going to be there with me. I've decided on a seance- you know, the ol' fashioned ghost speak. Normally, I believe that that type of thing should be reserved for utter lunatics, but I really do think that in this case, I can take the exception. 7 PM sharp- we'll make it a sleepover. Got it?"

Marshall could not believe what he was hearing. "Wait a minute, you REALLY think that I'm going to join you in a SEANCE?"

"I can't believe she got me to join her in a seance," Marshall said, his arms crossed dutifully. He, Lily, and Ted were all gathered in the dark of Robin's apartment living room, lit only by a few sparse candles.

"Okay now, you guys hear me out on this," Robin instructed them. "I don't think this ghost is dangerous but if it is…well, Marshall's a retired Ghostbuster, so I think he'll be able to take one for the team."

Marshall nodded reluctantly. "Me. You're gonna wanna call me."

"Now are you ready?"

"I guess," Ted replied, just slightly worriedly.

"Alright then!" Robin said. She cleared her throat and spoke loudly and theatrically. "Ghost, if you exist in here, then come out now and make yourself clear!"

There was a long pause.

"Yeah, Robin, I don't think that's how you start off a seance," Lily said.

"Well, I mean it's a rhyme, so it couldn't be that off," Ted remarked.

Robin hushed them the moment she heard the softest whisper of a sound. "Listen!" she commanded.

A gentle, breezy sound filled the room, like that of a warm spring wind. Marshall clung to Ted fearfully as the temperature dropped to a bitter cold and the windows slammed shut forcefully.

Then, with that incantation, from the floorboards, up rose the thin, transparent figure of…Barnabus A. Stinson. The fabled ghost.

Lily gasped. Ted gasped. Marshall fainted and hit his head on the hardwood floor.

Robin, however, crossed her arms as if she had entirely expected this, which, to some extent, she had. "Well, hello there, Mr. Ghost," she greeted him.

Barnabus nodded his head, and, to their surprise, spoke. "Yes, hello, like I haven't heard that one a million times."

Ted's jaw dropped. "He talks, Robin."

"Duh, of course I talk!" Barnabus retorted sarcastically. "Who doesn't? Oh, and btw, call me Barney. Barnabus lends more to the whole terrifying ghost persona. I tend to keep that on the down low."

"I just peed a little," Marshall, now conscious, whispered to Ted, who scooted away from him looking slightly horrified.

"Ah," Robin said, with all of the guise that communicating with ghosts was entirely second nature to her. "So, Barney, I take it you've been haunting this place for quite a while?"

The apparition nodded. "Oh, yeah. For about five years actually. And it's super lame too. I mean…like SUPER lame."

"Then why don't you move somewhere else? Go haunt another building?"

Barney scratched his transparent head. "I dunno. This one's pretty fun to scare the crap out of people comin' in here." He winked slyly.

Robin nodded. "Gotcha."

Marshall, unable to control himself any longer, blurted out, "Barney, y-you don't ever, like, kill people, d-do you?"

"Of course not!" Barney said with a scoff. "Are you kidding me? First off, I barely need to. The last dude to move in here before this chick fled the moment that I dropped a pot on the floor. Months later, I learned he had a heart attack. And died. So…I mean, I guess I DID kill someone. Hmm. Something to think about then. But no, I don't habitually kill people. I leave that to the demons."

Marshall nodded. "That makes a lot of sense."

"I," Barney spoke, emphasizing the word. "Am a poltergeist." He smiled deviously, nodding his head.

"A what?" Ted asked.

"You know, a poltergeist!" Barney said. "A ghost that makes stuff fall. And makes things levitate!"

"Oh," Ted responded.

"Don't sound so impressed, geez," Barney remarked sarcastically. A few seconds later, he added," And, check this out!" He clapped his hands together, omitting a very real spark of fire that he flung at the ceiling, knocking a lightbulb to the floor with a crash and sending into lots of tiny pieces.

He cackled a little bit, sounding slightly diabolical. "How's that for supernatural?"

"Super unnatural," Marshall breathed out.

"But why are you here?" Lily asked suddenly. "I mean, I'm not exactly the super religious type, but I thought there was some type of afterlife at least?"

Barney quickly licked his lips. "Well…the big bro in the sky didn't want me because apparently I, quote unquote, 'was a sinner by every definition of the word,' and so I got kinda kicked outta that place, only to go downstairs and find that the demon king wasn't too impressed with me either."

Ted was naturally apprehensive. "Dude, you did NOT go to two afterlives and come back."

"Uh, dude, I totally did," Barney retorted. "True story."

Ted rolled his eyes.

"So, are you guys done with your ghost question session yet?" Barney inquired. "I've got stuff to do y'know. Places to be. Mainly cuz I just found out there's a super hot ghostess haunting the downstairs floor. Won't be long until I can bring her up here and she can haunt MY downstairs floor, whattup!" He held out his hand for a high five on note of his crude joke.

Lily shook her head slowly. "None of us are going to high five a ghost, you weirdo," she told him.

"Well, come on, now that's just rude," Barney said dejectedly.

Robin, meanwhile, sat pondering something major. There was, in particular, one secret that she had kept from the rest of her friends, and she had kept it simply so that they would not regard her as being absolutely out of her mind. Days ago, she had been microwaving a TV dinner, unaware of the small sliver of aluminum she had left on it. It wasn't long before she began to smell smoke, and she rushed to the kitchen. She screamed once she discovered her microwave was on fire, and it was, blazing aggressively. But before she could do a thing to put it out, it was out just as quickly as it had started. This, as it soon became apparent, would become the first instance of several. A few days later, she had been walking through her living room when the ceiling fan above her came shattering down. She would have been severely injured had a sudden and unforeseen force not knocked her off of her feet just before it could fall down on top of her. She could not hold back on asking the spirit of Barney why any longer. Why had he wanted to protect her? Was this something he always did? Or was she just unique? Was it possible for a phantom like himself to care about a mortal like her?

"One thing is unclear though," Robin interjected. "You…you've protected me. You've looked out for me, and…why?"

A few seconds passed. Barney looked shockingly serious, his eyes noting deep layers of emotion underneath. And then…then, he disappeared. He was gone in a flash, just as ghosts often are.

"No, wait, Barney!" Robin pleaded. "Barney, come back!"

But he was gone. Once again, the curtains blew gently in the breeze, and Robin knelt down, letting out a sigh of disappointment. "Great. Now he's gone. How did I manage to screw this one up?"

"Well, to be fair, um, he is a ghost," Marshall stated, and Robin only turned and stared at him.

"I'm sure he'll come back," Lily said gently, placing a reassuring hand on Robin's shoulder. "Ghosts can't stay away for too long, right?"

"I hope not," Robin replied sullenly.

"So now what?" Ted asked.

"Now nothing," Robin answered flatly. "He's gone."

The wind whistled through the windows, blowing out one of the candles. The four were left sitting in a lazy circle in the floor, quiet and forlorn.

* * *

><p>After saying their goodbyes, Ted, Marshall, and Lily had headed home, though Lily had offered to stay at Robin's for the night if needed (Robin declined promptly, but Lily could tell that her resistance to the offer was only a facade.) All alone now, Robin flicked on the television, watching a late night news program with very little interest. It was then that she felt the familiar chill of someone- or something.<p>

"Why the news? Robin, you're home alone! Surf the channels! Find some hot action- I know a few good channels if you need 'em." It was Barney. And had it been physically possible, Robin would have hugged him for all he was worth.

His legs were crossed as he sat next to her, and he jiggled his transparent foot avidly.

Robin only stared at him for a few minutes. "You trickster," she said to him.

He smiled and cocked his head playfully.

"You fooled me into thinking you'd left! I thought I screwed up another one there!"

"Another one?" Barney scoffed. "What, screwing up things is second nature for you?"

"Shut up, Casper," Robin retorted sassily. "Look, what matters is that you're back. And before you disappear again, tell me- why did you do what you did?"

"What did I do?"

"You protected me. You cared for me. You saved me."

Barney considered it. "It's no big deal. I mean… I liked you. You were one of the first people to move in that wasn't scared of me, plus you doubted my existence, which proves you're kind of a stand-alone type person, you know? You're independent. You've got real spunk, Robin. And that's something I haven't seen in anyone since I was alive."

Robin smiled. "Aw, thank you. I gotta say, I never thought I'd be sitting by myself, taking compliments from a ghost."

Barney chuckled. "Well, now you can cross that off your bucket list, can't you?"

"Speaking of bucket lists," Robin said, "and I mean if this isn't too, um, forward, how exactly DID you die?"

Barney had to think back on that. "Oh, I remember! It had to do with your friend, Ted, that scruffy haired, trashily dressed dude. I worked a few hallways down from him at GNB, and I never really talked to him, but he always seemed like kind of a cool, albeit dorky guy, and one day I heard he'd gotten into a car accident, so I wanted to make sure he was okay and I went out to stop by the hospital I'd heard they put him in, and I wasn't looking I guess. I got hit by a bus."

"Oh my God," Robin gasped. "Sorry to hear that."

"Ah, it's no biggie, I got over it. I lived." He peered down at himself. "Well, sorta anyway."

Robin looked at him with kindness in her eyes, as did he to her. It was the strangest thing- a connection with a spirit, a melding of two unlikely worlds fused together into one. Robin was the renowned cynic, after all, but this was different. Barney was not just a run of the mill phantom. He was, in a sense, still vaguely human. He was alive.

"I think you're doing a great job though," she told him. "I mean, you scare the crap out of people, and when they get to know you, you're actually a pretty nice guy! Be proud of yourself."

"Oh, I am," he replied. "Trust me, Robin, I've got LOTS to be proud of. I'm like the king of awesome ghosts. I'm like the king of awesome. Period."

She cracked a small smile. "You are pretty cool for a transparent white dude."

A few seconds of silence passed.

"So do you wanna, I don't know, watch something a little bit more interesting?" Barney asked her. "I heard that SyFy's running some cheesy horror films tonight."

Robin nodded. "Yeah, that would actually be really nice."

Barney pulled up the remote using his levitation powers and magically switched stations immediately. A giant octopus was shown capsizing a ship on the television. The two watched the film, joking and laughing periodically throughout at the low-budget hilarity of it. The night played out well, and come the following morning, Robin was asleep on the couch. She awoke with popcorn in her hair just as Lily arrived.

"Lily?" she rasped, opening her eyes."Why are you here?"

"I came to check on you," Lily answered. "How's the luck with going?"

For a minute, Robin reflected on the glorious night she had just spent with the friendly apparition, how real it felt and how oddly connected they were. And she answered from the honesty of her heart.

"Luck is good," she told Lily.

* * *

><p>Over the course of the next few months, Barney made himself more apparent. He aided Robin occasionally in basic household tasks and the like, and was always there to talk to her or make some sort of snarky comment here and there. Even Marshall, Ted, and Lily grew well acquainted with him, though Marshall still was a bit jumpy once in a while. Regardless, the five of them bonded in a peculiar way.<p>

"Hey, Ted, check this out!" Barney caused a chair to levitate before dropping it loudly to the floor, almost on top of Ted's foot.

"Barney, what did I tell you about throwing chairs?" Robin scolded him. "My house, my rules, mister."

"I'm not five, Robin," he retorted. "I think I know what I can and can't do." The next object he levitated, another chair, he soon lost control of, and it went smashing into the television.

He laughed nervously. "Oops."

Robin had her arms crossed.

"I'll go get the broom," Lily said.

And so it was that there indeed had been a ghost in the Darkwood Building. But he and Robin would come to share a connection unlike no other. He had vowed to always protect her, and he would keep that vow. The bond they shared was strong, a force of love that Barney would never admit to. But, truthfully, he knew as well as Robin did that that was what it was. And as for Ted, he himself grew closer to Barney, forever thankful to him of the near sacrifice he had made that had cost him his mortal life.

Barney and Robin sat together on Robin's couch one night, enjoying each other's company and giggling over old cheesy horror films when the phone rang. It was Marshall.

"I told you so!"


End file.
